Jay-Z’s Africa-themed ‘The Ascension’ album feat Olamide, Sarkodie is April Fool’s prank
There is news making the rounds that American rapper Jay-Z is about to release an Africa-themed album ‘The Ascension’ which features African stars like Olamide, Sarkodie, Femi Kuti, and Nasty C.
The story also claimed the album will feature other international acts including Beyoncé, Rick Ross, H.E.R, and the duo of the Lighthouse family.
But the whole story is just an April Fool prank first posted on the entertainment website Notjustok.
The pranksters even went as far as creating an album cover art including a tracklist to make their story believable.
What made the story even more believable was when they added this ‘statement’ from Jay-Z regarding his long-held desire to work with African artists and connect with the ‘Motherland’.
“I’ve always wanted to get in touch with my roots and connect to the motherland. You know, Africa is blessed with so much talent and I felt like it was time to tap into that resource. The Ascension is not just talking or focusing on Africa but it’s also about me giving back to the people, familiarizing with the culture and connecting more with the motherland.”
To the pranksters’ credit, they did end the article with the caveat that the whole story was just a prank. That didn’t prevent major national dailies including Leadership and the Punch from running with the story and creating an online frenzy amongst fans of the artist which were mentioned in the article.
